The daith is a piercing of the upper ear cartilage close to head. This is one of the few piercings that has more than one placement (mostly due to the variations in cartilage shape from person to person) and is called by the same name in all of its orientations. There are two primarily accepted positions for a daith piercing, which are in the thin flap of cartilage where the helix meets the scalp, or more traditionally at the portion of the cartilage that crests between the tragus and rook areas of the ear. In accordance with the piercing’s placement when it was first invented, a true daith must be placed in a very specific manner on the crest, so that one end of the jewelry appears to be emerging from within the ear canal.
This piercing gets its name from the Hebrew word Daath (or Daith), meaning “intelligence,” or “knowledge,” and was co-invented by famous piercer Erik Dakota and a female client, who rightfully drew the connection between a conduit placed in the ear and the filtering of wisdom.
Daith piercings are most often done with a long, curved piercing needle, although they can sometimes be performed with a straight needle and a receiving tube. These piercings generally take several months to heal entirely, and because of their location, extra care must be taken to prevent infection. Once healed, barbell jewelry of various types is most commonly worn. Variations of the daith include its alternate placement mentioned above, and the less common “forward helix,” or horizontal daith.
If you haven’t heard of the daith piercing, it may be due to geography. Even though this piercing was invented in 1992, it was first performed pretty strictly in California, and primarily the coastal region. Also, like many other piercings of the inner ear cartilage, the daith didn’t experience a real surge of popularity until several years after its inception. Even now the piercing is still in the process of becoming mainstream, which probably makes it one of the coolest piercings you may have never heard of.
